The inventive subject matter relates to electrical equipment and, more particularly, to arc mitigation in electrical equipment.
Low and medium voltage equipment, such as motor drives, switchgear and the like, present an electrical safety hazard due to the presence of relatively high voltages. Such equipment may present, for example, arc flash hazards arising from equipment degradation, contamination, and accidents, such as accidents occurring during maintenance operations. Arc flashes may be extremely hazardous to personnel and may cause damage that is difficult and expensive to repair and may lead to significant downtime losses.
Accordingly, several approaches have been developed to contain and minimize damage from arc flashes. For example, equipment may be constructed with structural features that shield sensitive components from the worst effects of arc flashes. Such features may include placing components that are prone to arc flashes in special compartments or other structures, and using ducts and plenums to direct arc flash heat and gases away from personnel and sensitive components.
Active arc quenching systems have also been developed. These systems may extinguish arcs by detecting an arc and creating another arc within a sealed compartment, chamber or other containment system that channels energy away from the original arc. Examples of such arc quenching systems are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0285259 to Shea et al. and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0194702 to Asokan et al. A commercially available arc mitigation system is the Arc Vault™ system developed by General Electric Co, described at http://www.geindustrial.com/products/switchgear/arc-vault-protection-system.